The German Predicament: Memory and Power in the New Europe

Andrei S. Markovits; Simon Reich

Published by Cornell University Press 1997

The German Predicament

Memory and Power in the New Europe

Andrei S. Markovits and Simon Reich

https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501732898

Overview
Contents

About this book

What does the unification of Germany really mean? In their stimulating exploration of that question, Andrei S. Markovits and Simon Reich sketch diametrically different interpretations than are frequently offered by commentators. One is that Germany, well aware of the Holocaust, has been 'Europeanized' and is now prepared to serve as the capitalist and democratic locomotive that powers Europe. The other is that the proclivities behind Auschwitz have been suppressed rather than obliterated from the German psyche. Germany's liberal democracy was imposed by the allied victors, according to this view, and will one day dissolve, revealing the old expansionist tendencies to try to 'Germanize' all of Europe.

Markovits and Reich argue that benign contemporary assessments of Germany's postwar democracy, combined with admiration for the country's economic achievements, contribute to German influence far greater than military might was able to achieve. Yet, at the same time, some Germans have internalized liberal and pacifist principles and now see their nation as powerless, simply a larger Switzerland. As a result, while the Germans have enormous influence and latitude, they have not taken responsibility for leadership. The prime reason for this gap beween ideology and structure, Markovits and Reich suggest, lies in the politics of collective memory.

Author / Editor information

Andrei S. Markovits is Karl W. Deutsch Collegiate Professor of Comparative Politics and Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Michigan. He is the author of Offside: Soccer and American Exceptionalism. Simon Reich is Professor of Global Affairs and Political Science at Rutgers University, Newark. He is the author of Global Norms, American Sponsorship and the Emerging Patterns of World Politics and coauthor most recently of Good-bye Hegemony!.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
PREFACE Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Introduction: The Latest Stage of the German Question Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part One. HISTORY AND ANALYSIS
CHAPTER ONE. Europe and the German Question Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	23
CHAPTER TWO. Optimists and Pessimists Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	43
Part Two. COLLECTIVE MEMORY AND PUBLIC OPINION
CHAPTER THREE. Germans and Germany: A View from the United States Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	59
CHAPTER FOUR. Reactions among the Europeans Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	74
CHAPTER FIVE. Greece The European Rim: Greece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	84
CHAPTER SIX. Four Small Northern States: Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	91
CHAPTER SEVEN. Austria: Germany's Junior Partner Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	101
CHAPTER EIGHT. The World of Post-Communism: Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary Manik Hinchey Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	109
CHAPTER NINE. The Big States: Italy, France, Great Britain Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	120
Part Three. THE THREE FACES OF POWER
CHAPTER TEN. The Deployment of German Soldiers Abroad Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	137
CHAPTER ELEVEN. Germany’s Economic Power in Europe Frank Westermann Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	150
CHAPTER TWELVE. Foreign Cultural Policy Carolyn Höfig Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	183
Conclusion: The Predicament of the Berlin Republic Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	203
NOTES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	209
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	241

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Audience: General/trade;
Pages
- Main content: 264
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 5
- Tables: 5
- Other: 5 tables
Keywords: History; Political Science & Political History

eBook

Published: October 18, 2018
ISBN: 9781501732898